The Awkward Chef: Naeng Myun

Hello Hello!
Can you tell I’ve been busy this week? Well, for starters…Anthony’s birthday was this week and we had a blast! Lots of food was involved and driving as well. He deserved some spoiling honestly.
Anyways, there is a new series on the blog starting today! It’s going to my cooking series that I’ve been dying to do and I finally had the chance to begin: The Awkward Chef. Now, the title has a meaning…kind of? I have always preferred baking, but I decided to take up cooking to kind of bump up my independence skills and it’ll help when Anthony and I get married. Only problem is…I’m so awkward with cooking and ingredients, so it just made sense to call this series The Awkward Chef.
With that said, because it is a new project; please due expect changes to made here and there to better enhance the series. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think!If you read my post on Choi’s Korean Kitchen, you’d know very well how big of a fan of their Bibim-myun I am! I love it so much that I finally gained up the courage to make it myself. I couldn’t find the exact same recipe, but I found one regardless and gave it a whirl. It actually turned out to be quite easy, it’s just a matter of taste.The recipe I worked off from called for larger amount of ingredients, but I slimmed it down to do a quick test! What ingredients did I use?
– One Can of College Inn Beef Broth
– One Cucumber
– One Bag of Spinach (You really only need like six leaves, but the large bag was a steal…)
– Soumen (そうめん) Noodles
– White Vinegar
I tried to use the minimal amount of ingredients so I could focus on the broth and noodles. I have been craving green veggies lately, so cucumber and spinach seemed best fit.The first thing I did was fill a medium sized pot with water and sprinkled in some salt for the soumen noodles. Typically, the package has the directions for cooking on the back so I followed those which meant leaving them in for about 2 to 3 minutes then rinsing with cold water. I then brought out a small pot for the broth. I only used one can for testing, so you really don’t need a big pot. I let the broth warm up on medium heat then added about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. I kind of eyed it since the vinegar is really to your taste, but if you feel you’ve added too much you can always add some water to the broth to even it out.
Once everything is in a pan to cook, I went ahead and prepped my veggies. I thinly sliced my cucumber to the point where they are transparent. This is kind of difficult to get a full even slice, so I would suggest using a mandolin slicer. Thankfully, culinary classes in high school taught me something. With the spinach, I just rinses a few leaves and let them sit to dry. I like the crunchiness of the stems, so no cutting was necessary.One thing I suggest is after rinsing your noodles, go ahead and gently squeeze the access water out and then let it sit over top of bowl to drain some more. I feel like it allows the flavor of the broth to peak through and the access water won’t dilute it any further.
So once your noodles are done and your broth is hot, go ahead and prep your bowl! I put a little bit of broth in the bowl, layered on the noodles, then added more broth. One thing I was careful about was not to overfill the bowl because I wanted the noodles to peak through like a teaser. After that, I carefully placed the veggies on top and made sure to soak them in the broth as well! And now we have…TA-DA!!! You get a pretty scrumptious Naeng Myun! Now, I know that typically naeng myun is eaten cold, but it was so rainy and windy today that I wanted something a bit more warm! It hit the spot too. It came out a little tangier than I thought, but I eyed the vinegar so I probably added a wee bit too much. The noodles were perfect and the cucumbers actually got a little pickled thanks to the vinegar and broth, which made them even more delicious. Overall, I think this was a great way to begin The Awkward Chef series. I will say that this recipe goes about two servings, so this is perfect and won’t last long!

That is it! OH MY GOSH THE PICTURES CAME OUT BETTER THAN I THOUGHT! Yay. I can’t wait for my next adventure into cooking. I have just a wee bit more motivation than before, but still a wee bit hesitant. With practice comes progress and that’s all I can ask for at this point!

If you enjoyed this post and have any tips or want to know anything more about today’s recipe, feel free to comment below! If you have any suggestions or recommendations for future posts, please hit the contact button above. I love to hear what you all think. With that said, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I’ve got another Sunday off, so I wonder what shenanigans I’m going to get into with the hubby. Anyways, take care, be safe, and always remember the words of Andrew Zimmern – “If It Tastes Good…Eat It!” 😛
Thanks for Reading~! ❤
With Love,
Taylor Rae

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5 thoughts on “The Awkward Chef: Naeng Myun”

Hey Taylor!! (Skyler) I finally read your post. It was interesting and I could tell that you are very passionate about your new project. Looking forward to your future dishes and Gook (geek + good) Luck! (Yes I know I am being cheesy.)

I love korean food ❤ especially kimbap, I can eat it forever! I liked seeing this on my newsfeed, I've been wanting to do something food related on my blog (since I love making food) but idk lol I can relate to the awkwardness of basic cooking but I love baking! Great job!

Hello!!!
I am so happy you can relate! There’s a running joke in my family about my inability to cook…maybe that’s why I started this series?
I love your blog btw! So cute and helpful!! Thanks so much for your comment and I hope you enjoy future posts!
– Taylor Rae